Raytheon Systems has been competitively selected by the U.S. Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command to provide Navy Global Broadcast Service-Shipboard Antenna Systems. These next-generation satellite communication terminals will immediately provide the U. S. Fleet with high bandwidth communications over the U.S. Navy UHF Follow-On (UFO) satellites and future satellite systems.
Initial contract value is $3.5 million for 14 systems, and
additional options for 300 terminals total $73.5 million.
The Global Broadcast Service (GBS), under development by Raytheon
Systems Company, is an information system that enables U.S. Forces to
receive up to 24 megabits per second of global broadcast information.
The system employs the popular direct broadcast satellite technology
to provide the rapid broadcast of high-volume military information,
including maps, intelligence data, weather reports and air tasking
orders.
It will enable information to be delivered in seconds,
compared to minutes or hours needed in the past, using a common
desktop computer interface.The GBS system is a space-based high data
rate communication link providing information flow from the United
States or other rear-echelon locations to military forces deployed in
the field. The GBS space segment is a Ka-band communications payload
carried aboard U.S. Navy UHF Follow-On (UFO) satellites. The first GBS
payload is hosted on UFO Flight 8, which was launched in March 1998.
The GBS Shipboard Antenna Systems Ku/Ka multi-band systems are
commercial off-the-shelf/non-developmental items, which are
derivatives of the AN/USC-38 Navy EHF Satcom Program and the AN/WSC-6
SHF systems built by Raytheon. The production effort will be managed
and work performed in Marlborough, Mass.
“This win is an excellent example of our efforts to address new
requirements using existing, open architecture systems. We are the
leaders in providing affordable, high bandwidth, highly reliable
multi-band systems for the military and commercial marketplace,” said
Francis S. Marchilena, general manager of Raytheon System Company’s
Command, Control and Communication business segment.
